Murder at No. 4 Euston Square

A chilling true crime story of a baffling boarding house murder in Victorian London and the stunning secrets revealed by the investigation.

Someone must have known what happened to Matilda Hacker. For someone in that house had killed her. So how could the murderer prove so elusive?


Standing four storeys tall in an elegant Bloomsbury terrace, No. 4, Euston Square was a well-kept, respectable boarding house. But beneath this genteel Victorian London veneer lay murderous intrigue. On 9 May 1879, the body of a former resident, Matilda Hacker, was discovered by chance in the coal cellar. The ensuing investigation—led by Inspector Charles Hagen, rising star of the recently formed CID—stripped bare the dark side of Victorian domesticity.


In this true-crime story, Sinclair McKay meticulously evaluates the evidence in first-hand sources. His gripping account sheds new light on a mystery that eluded Scotland Yard.

Praise for Murder at No. 4 Euston Square

"With the gusto of a penny dreadful, Murder at No. 4 Euston Road dodges any stodgy courtroom testimony that can weigh down true crime stories and sticks to the juicy details. It is hard to avoid the comparison with Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and it has similar historical richness and plot twisting." —The Spectator (UK)


"Sinclair McKay is an accomplished and talented author with a rare skill. . . . True crime fans and history buffs will enjoy this book, coming away with an enthralling true crime story and a new knowledge and understanding of Victorian London." —Crime Traveller (UK)


"Gripping, gothic and deeply poignant." —The Mail on Sunday (UK)


"A meticulously researched book." —Brian Viner, Daily Mail (UK)